Breaking Through The Void
by Yung Warrior
Summary: In a city devoured by the legions of darkness, a lone duelist makes his stand- the dragon of light rises.


The once-starry night sky had been obscured by black smoke from the burning buildings. Orange flames licked the support beams of skyscrapers and apartment complexes while unnatural shadows shifted restlessly on the ground. The flames provided the only source of light, as the electricity had been disconnected long ago.

The realm of darkness had fallen upon the planet Earth, originating in the city of Domino. Through the negative feelings of duelists, the malicious demon spirit Nightshroud had assimilated almost all life on Earth into the void.

In many ways, it was a fate worse than death. After being absorbed into the world of darkness, any and all trace of one's existence disappears. Possessions, accomplishments, even memories- all returned to nothing.

The emissaries of darkness that referred to themselves as "Trueman" descended upon the unwitting citizens of Domino, absorbing them effortlessly into a world where individuality and relationships have no meaning.

A solitary man jumped from roof to roof, clenching a duel disk in his hand. His freezing blue eyes frantically scanned the surroundings for any trace of life, only to find none.

Seto Kaiba was losing his mind. He remembered that he was the CEO of a large company, but for some reason, he could not recall the name of a single employee that had ever worked for him. Even his little brother Mokuba was absent from his mind, having been assimilated earlier. Once the darkness captured someone, they were erased completely from Seto's memory.

In fact, the only individuals who seemed to be appearing his mind's eye were Yugi Moto and Joey Wheeler, two old rivals and friends of his. In the back of his mind, he vaguely hypothesized why this would be the case, but there was no time to truly dwell on the matter. He needed to get out of the city and find Yugi or Wheeler. Perhaps Yugi would have another one of his ridiculous myths ready to answer why the hell the city was burning in the first place.

He clambered down a rickety fire escape before landing on the ashen street with a thud. His normally immaculately arranged brown hair was ruffled, and his expensive white jacket now had a coating of dust on it.

Still, he did not stop running, and a thin film of sweat began to form on his forehead. Turning a corner, he saw the form of a man. While this may have given someone else cause for relief, Kaiba immediately backpedaled, going around another alleyway.

The man had somehow appeared in front of him again. He wore an unsettling bodysuit of skin-tight black and orange leather, and his eyes were hidden by sunglasses. Another fire raged behind Kaiba, and he knew that the only way out was through this mysterious stranger.

"Good day, Mr. Kaiba." The man growled. There was no need for introductions; Kaiba had already dueled this man a dozen times that day. Yet no matter how many times he won, the demon rematerialized.

"You call yourself Trueman, correct? You should probably let me pass this time. It might be good for your health." Kaiba snarled.

Trueman silently activated his duel disk. "No, Mr. Kaiba. Powerful as you are, even you will tire eventually. It is only a matter of when."

"Ah, I believe this will be our thirteenth match, then? Lucky number thirteen. Perhaps this time you'll actually succeed in damaging my life points." Kaiba's usual arrogance shone through as he activated his own duel disk. Despite the imminent danger, part of him relished the chance to stretch his legs and show off his skills once more.

"Your arrogance will prove to be your downfall."

"As if it isn't earned. No one has mastered the game of Duel Monsters like me! And if you think that I'll be beaten by trash like you, you've got another thing coming!"

Kaiba defeated Trueman in a few turns, drawing a lucky opening hand that allowed him to bring out Blue-eyes Ultimate Dragon on his third turn. Trueman melted into shadows once more, and Kaiba could proceed.

A discarded motorcycle laid on its side in the middle of the street. The key was still in the ignition, and Kaiba took the blessing without hesitation. Although most of the street signs had been destroyed, Kaiba knew the city well enough that he could make his way out without assistance.

After three hours and several more encounters with Trueman, Kaiba finally found a bridge out of the city. He imagined that the bike would be out of gas soon, and his nerves were more frayed than ever.

It almost seemed a miracle that he made it across the bridge without anything spontaneously catching fire. However, his luck was not to last. The bike sputtered and gasped weakly before stopping completely. Kaiba would need to find another civilization, and he desperately hoped this plague of darkness had not spread worldwide.

Compounding this poor turn of fortune was a giant red fireball narrowly streaking by his head. "Red-Eyes, take him out with Inferno Fire Blast!" A squeaky brooklyn accent called out.

"No way…Wheeler!" Kaiba muttered, throwing his hands in front of his face to shield himself from the light of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack.

"I guess it wasn't lucky number thirteen for you after all, punk!" Joey Wheeler grinned, rubbing his nose. As he turned away from the dying incarnation of Trueman, he noticed Kaiba. "Hey, look Yugi! Rich boy showed up!"

"Kinda busy here, Joey! Dark Magician, attack his monster and finish him off!" A short man with multicolored hair said hurriedly. After the duel was finished, Yugi and Joey rushed over to the frazzled Kaiba.

"I knew you were OK!" Yugi smiled, patting Kaiba on the back. While Kaiba normally did not appreciate sentimentality, he could tolerate it in this case. Having friendly human contact was a treat in itself.

"We've got a boat over at the harbor, now c'mon! We need to get out of here!" Joey shouted. Trueman was already reassembling himself, the legions of hell becoming impatient.

"I refuse to run! We're the only ones strong enough to fight these creatures! How am I to get my memories back if I leave?" Kaiba protested.

"We're not the only ones left. There's someone else out there. I can sense their spirit. It's strange…like an even deeper darkness in a sea of black. It's familiar…like someone I've met before." Yugi said slowly. "He's strong. He's fighting the forces of darkness even as we speak."

Besides Yugi, an ethereal vision appeared. It was Kuriboh, Kaiba recognized that, a Kuriboh with wings _. "Bah! I must be seeing things!"_ He thought furiously, dismissing the vision.

"I believe that this person can defeat the darkness once and for all. It is a student from your school, you know." said Yugi.

Kaiba scoffed. "In that case, he had better win. I will not have my school's name dragged through the mud."

Joey laughed. "Some things never change, do they? Come on, let's hurry!"

And so they went, leaving the fate of the world in the hands of the next generation.

 **A/N**

 **Just a short, canon-compilant vignette I thought of one day. I haven't had much time to write longer stories as of late, so I've just been composing one-shots like this. I hope you all enjoyed the story!**


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